Anthocyanin mutants
Anthocyanins are flavonoids whose accumulation in vacuoles is highly influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and light. Most tomato anthocyanin mutants were discovered observing the coloration of seedling hypocotyls. Tomato mutants with increased anthocyanin levels in fruits are also available and desirable from a nutritional perspective. Tomato anthocyanin mutants have alterations in genes coding for enzymes in the biosynthesis of flavonoids, or early in the phenolic (shikimate) pathway. Mutations in certain classes of transcription factors (MYB, bHLH), which may also be controlled by light and hormones, are important sources of alterations in anthocyanin accumulation. Please click on the name of each mutant to obtain information about its molecular identity (gene function, if known) and phenotype (gene effect of a given allele).